Japan, the territory of rising assurance for Bangladesh’s ICT sector
Japan - ever in the forefront of science and technology because of its way of life of intensive mathematics education and reverence for engineers.
So it is a marvel in that case that Bangladesh's fledgeling ICT players are slowly carving an area for themselves in that market over the 10 years, spearheaded by Mahboob Zaman during his period as the president of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS).
Today, Bangladesh's twelve-monthly exports of information and communications technology (ICT) products to Japan total about Tk 100 crore. In the last year or two, Japan offers been the single greatest marketplace for Bangladesh's ICT sector.
And the exports can develop manifold next couple of years if the local companies can leverage the market's potential. So many that the ASIAN nation can make the lion's show of the government's 2023 export target of $5 billion, according to business owners and industry insiders.
Moreover, the global coronavirus pandemic has additionally opened doors for area firms found in Japan, which is keen on shifting its associated businesses to locations other than China, they said.
Within the next 3 to 5 years Bangladesh may well become the primary driver of Japan's ICT industry if the neighborhood companies can grab the opportunities where relationships will play a essential function, said Rashad Kabir, managing director of Dream71.
His firm happens to be among the 50 or so local entities employing different Japanese ICT companies and this number could be increased further, said Kabir, also the director of the Bangladesh Association of Program and Information Services (BASIS).
DataSoft Systems was among the first regional companies to focus on Japan.
It opened an office there and ran some projects, including a single where it partnered with Johnson Control Hitachi to build up Internet of Items (IoT) goods for them. It is right now engaged in a research partnership with a Japanese university.
Its Managing Director Zaman inspired several area companies a couple of years back to concentrate on that market since it has a shortage of ICT engineers, whereas Bangladesh has workforce aplenty.
"In the diplomatic level, we've a warm romance. The local companies' simply responsibility now could be to nurture this romance with their benefit," Zaman said.
The Japanese government has recently decided to approach its companies from China to other destinations and for that, they possess declared a stimulus package of $2.43 billion.
This prompted 24 companies to go to Vietnam, 11 to Hong Kong, 3 to India and only 2 to Bangladesh, he said.
"We need to are likely involved in bringing japan ICT investment here by giving them confidence inside our capabilities and innovative suggestions," he stated, expecting the pandemic to open latest windows of prospects for the neighborhood firms.
THE FOUNDATION started attending Japan IT Week each year since 2015 to showcase its members' products and capabilities. And a great number of Japanese firms are also attending BASIS Softexpo going back couple of years.
Earlier, the foundation was mostly centered on European markets, specifically most Nordic countries and the united states. However in the last year or two, Japan turned out to be the single largest market for the ICT sector.
To seize these opportunities, the BASIS, largest trade physique of the ICT and program industry of the united states, yesterday opened a particular "BASIS Japan Desk".
It was inaugurated by Salman F Rahman, the prime minister's individual industry and investment adviser, through a virtual programme where Status Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak was also present.
Bangladesh could be a new vacation spot for Japan and that is why the BASIS felt the necessity for the launch of a special desk, said Syed Almas Kabir, president of the organisation.
The dedicated table for the Japanese market will have features like organization to organization (B2B) matchmaking, links to Japanese IT companies and research on the Japanese market.
The desk will participate in all ICT events in Japan, provide grooming sessions on Japanese businesses and culture and inform Bangladeshi entrepreneurs about the latest technologies, said the BASIS.
The initiative can help Bangladeshi companies expand their businesses in Japan and boost export revenue, they added.
The government was working to increase its ease of doing business ranking and he was hoping for subsequent year's position to be much higher, Rahman said.
"There is no alternative to attracting overseas direct investment for the production of a region and the BASIS offers chosen such a good country which includes been a reliable partner for decades."
He also requested the foundation to showcase their successes before Japan and other countries as currently Bangladesh was going quite strong in this sector.
Rahman also asked to create a corresponding help table in Tokyo.
Senior Secretary to the ICT Division NM Zeaul Alam; Commerce Secretary Md Jafar Uddin; Ambassador Incredible and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Dhaka Ito Naoki; officials from the Bangladesh embassy in Tokyo; and JICA Bangladesh Chief Representative Mikio Hataeda, spoke at the function, among others.
